The Gun-Toting, Millennial Restaurant Owner Trying to Ride the Covid Backlash to Congress

[brooklynite]

Politico

CORTEZ, Colo. — A Glock on her hip and stilettos on her feet, Lauren Boebert stood behind a grocery store and waved as pickups, Harleys and Subarus flying “Trump 2020” banners and “thin blue line” American flags drove by. The procession calls itself the Montezuma County Patriots, a group of locals — fence menders, firefighters, retirees, unemployed dispatchers and others — that parades through town every weekend. This week, they steered their vehicles into a cracked asphalt parking lot and climbed out. They were here to see Boebert, a 33-year-old first-time candidate for Congress.

In June, Boebert pulled off a stunning upset of a five-term incumbent in the Republican primary — the first time an incumbent member of Congress had lost a primary in Colorado in almost a half-century. The owner of a gun-themed restaurant called Shooters Grill in the town of Rifle, Boebert went into the race with scant experience, money and national support. The Republican incumbent, Scott Tipton, was endorsed by President Donald Trump and had been embraced by constituents as a down-the-line conservative.

But that was before the coronavirus lockdown. In early May, with Colorado under stay-at-home orders from Democratic Governor Jared Polis, Boebert defied state policy and reopened her cafe. After Garfield County obtained a temporary restraining order to stop her from serving dine-in customers, she moved tables outside, leading officials to suspend her restaurant license. The dispute generated headlines — and free publicity for Boebert’s campaign — during the crucial final weeks leading into the primary, as the candidate denounced “the heavy hand of government to make us do whatever they want.” She slammed Tipton as a creature of the Washington establishment, and ended up beating him by 9 points in the primary.

Now, as she tries to ride her message about pandemic overreach to a win in the general election this fall, Boebert might just represent a new, very 2020 kind of politician: the Covid backlash candidate.

I’ve been clear that I don’t support Democrats simply because their Republican opponent is so horrible. But I’ve had a chance to chat with Diane Mitsch Bush, and she’s worth supporting.

https://dianeforcolorado.com/

[J_William_Ryan]

1. "...a new, very 2020 kind of politician: the Covid backlash candidate."

Let’s hope not.

[lpbk2713]

2. I hope a radical like this will be ignored.

Time will tell.

[CanonRay]

3. Diane is very capable

And probably has her best shot this year

[radius777]

4. 'law and order' Boebert has a history of breaking the law

We all know the whole 'law and order' schtick is about 'keeping PoC and liberals in their place' and nothing to do with law and order, as many of these RW'ers (Trump himself) are law breakers.

https://www.denverpost.com/2020/08/27/lauren-boebert-arrests-colorado-3rd-mitsch-bush/
Congressional candidate Lauren Boebert — who often espouses a pro-police, law-and-order message on the campaign trail — has been arrested and summonsed at least four times over the past decade, records show.
...
Boebert was arrested twice in Mesa County in 2015. As first reported by Colorado Newsline, Boebert was detained on June 20, 2015, after a verbal altercation with police at Country Jam, a music festival near Grand Junction. Boebert, then 28 years old, allegedly shouted at people detained on suspicion of underage drinking, urging them to flee from police, which caused the young drinkers to become unruly.

While she was being handcuffed for disorderly conduct, Boebert tried to twist away from police, according to deputies’ reports. She allegedly shouted that her arrest was unconstitutional, that “she had friends at Fox News and that the arrest would be national news.” It did not become national news.